Great stuff from Cameron Hughes
Early on here at The Daily Bottle, I think it’s important to get everyone familiar with what I consider some of my “staples” in terms of really high quality wines that won’t break the bank. Make no mistake about it though, any wine I put up here on the site is going to be a darn good wine — irrespective of price.
And to that end, one of my favorite sources of these kinds of values are the wines from Cameron Hughes. This guy does a fantastic job, and today I’m going to talk about his “Lot 111″, which is still available in some of the Sam’s Clubs (and probably other locations) around the country. Lot 111 is a 2005 Paso Robles Zinfandel.
If some of Cameron’s stuff shows up at my local Sam’s Club, I automatically buy at least 2 bottles, just due to his track record with wines. And like I mentioned — Lot 111 is long gone in a lot of the store locations, but there are a couple where I’ve seen a few bottles left.
I don’t remember exactly how much this one cost, but I’m pretty sure it was around 11 or 12 dollars a bottle, which is tremendous value for what you get. And what you get is a classic California Zinfandel, with a lot of dark fruit, smokiness, and really nice balance. Very solid. I like to have this with a thick steak or a fat burger off the grill.
Definitely pick up a bottle or two of this if you see any more laying around in your local Sam’s Club. Other California Zinfandel’s I’ve had of this quality typically sell in the $20 – $30 range, and here you’re paying around half that.
My rating: 88 points.
Lot 111
Themocracy
Hey Steve,
I’m glad you decided to start this site. I am always happy to get wine recommendations – especially affordable ones! This zin looks great, I’m going to search for it around here…hmm, who can I be nice to who has a Sam’s membership?
Yummy – you might also want to check your local Sam’s and see if you can find any of his “Lot 150″. It was released about 2 months ago, and I think it was only released at Sam’s. A Meritage which is mostly Cab Franc, which is a grape I personally love. Sam’s was selling it for 6 or 7 dollars a bottle, which is practically giving it away. Unfortunately, there are some astute wine buyers around here in Sarasota, and they cleaned out the entire stock within a month.
It’s nice to see people finally catching on…so many people were so skeptical of anything under $20 that they totally missed out
This prime winemaking region is now far removed from the underappreciated, average wine region that existed when we first drove through central California in 1994 Take my advice visit and sample as much as you can…..